LOVE AT THE CORE

Wednesday: 16th September, 2020

1 Corinthians 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Most cook books contain recipes that provide specific ingredients which need to be available in particular proportions to reproduce any dishes presented. It is, therefore, expected that only when all ingredients are present will the dish be complete. However, with some recipes, ingredients are so rare that they often have to be left out or replaced with an alternative. This may lead to a massive or undetectable difference in the final outcome.

But today, we are presented with a number of situations in which the core ingredient is irreplaceable. Without it, the whole dish falls apart and that core ingredient is “LOVE”. Saint Paul presents multiple scenarios in the opening three verses, the outcome of which many would be more than happy with: “speaking the language of angels, knowing all things and the faith to move mountains”.

Yet, he moves further to suggest that without love, all those have little value; without love at their core, their importance, worth and usefulness is nothing but an overestimation. So what is in this word ‘LOVE” at all? What makes its place so paramount? Is it not just one of those overused vocabularies? Regardless, even though we may have questions like the above spanning across multiple perspectives, that does very little to the place of love.

What we think about it, how we perceive it or how we get involved in it does not alter its place. All we need realise is that it is special, special enough to be placed as “the greatest”. Many things will matter to you, but at their epicentre, should be love. And perhaps, you are still on the look out for what love should look like. To that, “

Look no further than at the cross, where a saviour’s arms are open wide in love for the world”.

#sly